The Latest: Kentucky lawmaker's wife wants to replace him

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Latest on the death of a Kentucky state lawmaker accused of sexual assault (all times local):

12:50 p.m.

The wife of a Republican lawmaker in Kentucky who killed himself after accusations he sexually assaulted a teenage girl says she will seek to replace him in the state legislature.

Rebecca Johnson made the announcement in a news release sent to The Associated Press. Dan Johnson killed himself Wednesday night. David Adams, a political operative who worked for Dan Johnson, confirmed Rebecca Johnson's intentions.

In the release, Rebecca Johnson referred to her husband's death as a "high-tech lynching based on lies and half-truths."

The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published a story earlier this week detailing accusations that Johnson sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl in 2013. Police had investigated the matter but did not file charges. The story prompted police to re-open the investigation.

Dan Johnson had called the accusations "totally false."

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11:30 a.m.

A coroner has ruled the death of a Kentucky lawmaker facing sexual assault allegations as a suicide.

Bullitt County Coroner Dave Billings said Dan Johnson died from a single self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. A neighbor found Johnson's body near a road in a secluded area of Mount Washington on Wednesday night. An autopsy Thursday morning confirmed it was a suicide.

Johnson was elected to the legislature in 2016 and was pastor of Heart of Fire Church in Louisville. On Monday, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published a story detailing allegations that he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl in his basement in 2013.

Police investigated in 2013 but filed no charges. The investigation was reopened because of the story. Johnson had called the allegations "totally false."

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10:30 a.m.

An ominous Facebook post from a Kentucky lawmaker facing sexual assault allegations is part of what prompted his family to report him missing to a local sheriff's department.

Bullitt County Sheriff Donnie Tinnell said Dan Johnson's wife reported him missing on Wednesday night when she could not reach him after reading a message he posted to Facebook saying "heaven is my home" and asking people to care for his wife.

Tinnell said a neighbor found Johnson's body near a bridge in Mount Washington. Tinnell said it appears Johnson shot himself.

A Republican lawmaker in Kentucky facing sexual assault allegations has died of an apparent suicide.

Bullitt County Coroner Dave Billings says state Rep. Dan Johnson died from a single gunshot Wednesday night on Greenwell Ford Road in Mount Washington, Kentucky. Billings said Johnson stopped his car at the end of a bridge in a secluded area and got out. Billings says it was "probably suicide." He said an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning.

The 57-year-old Johnson was elected to the state legislature in 2016. On Monday, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published an account from a woman saying Johnson sexually assaulted her in the basement of his home in 2013. Louisville police investigated the matter but closed the case and did not file charges.